Though I know some Christmas compers run right down to the wire (and, of course, we're all always on the hunt), we have reached the point of the season where most folks are just looking for great stuff to listen to. Music that makes you feel good, music that sounds like Christmas.

"The Heart Of Winter"is a 2013 album fromLia Rose. The hard copy CDs are long sold out, sadly. I wasn't around last year, so I missed it entirely. But smile (though your heart is breaking); downloads of this exceptional album are available on a name-your-price basis from Bandcamp.

Lia is the real deal and a total package. Her voice is the kind we hear too infrequently--the kind that delivers regardless of the genre, the kind that would be beloved in any era. If you're a dedicated Christmas collector, you may recall Lia's voice from the fantastic version of"Baby Its Cold Outside"from San Francisco Indie band Built For The Sea, released as part of 2007's"A Foggy Holiday, Volume 1". Lia reprises that performance, here, which dispatches all the date-rape creepiness by eliminating the duet part of it.

I said Lia's voice would work in any genre and she proves it on"The Heart Of Winter", moving seamlessly from one to another. From Alt Country to Indie Rock to Pop to Jazz to Folk, Lia covers the waterfront. Every style fits her as though tailor-made. There are no poor tracks--this is a collection you can snuggle up to from start to finish (and then hit repeat)--but"That Time Of Year"is the cream that rises to the top, the tastiest marshmallow in this cup of hot cocoa. From the first notes of this Alt Country original, you recognize that"That Time Of Year"will endure...destined to be a future standard of the season. Unfortunately, it won't let me embed that song (so you get"Baby Its Cold Outside"instead).

As most exceptional albums will do,"The Heart Of Winter"is likely to leave you wanting more. Well, we might be able to scratch that itch. Lia Roseposted a cover of John Lennon's"Imagine"in October and its also available as a "name-your-price" download on Bandcamp. "Imagine"has long been popular in the Christmas season and, in the afterglow of"The Heart Of Winter", Lia's cover makes a fine after-dinner aperitif.

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Here we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations.